Memorial Day
by Lady Michaelis 0704
Summary: Natalya tries to talk Bucky out of thinking himself a monster. Memorial Day Tribute. One-Shot (Bucky X OC)


The sky was painted gray that afternoon, and for Natalya, that was usually a good thing. She thoroughly enjoyed the gray weather, because it either brought snow or rain. However, this time the weather brought something a tad different;

Hail.

Which meant that not only would Bucky be coming home early, he'd also end up getting beat up by the icy stones that were falling bigger, faster and harder with every passing moment. She sighed to herself, raising herself from the couch in the living area, heading for the closet near the bedroom.

_'__It's bad enough he already was getting beat up mentally, but now this?' _She thought to herself with a sad smile, retrieving a big, fluffy pink blanket from the storage and bringing it back into the den with her. Today was one of those big days, one of those days that gave Bucky the perfect excuse to brood all around the house for an entire 24 hours, usually in sorrow.

Today was Memorial Day.

Natalya exhaled tiredly, snuggling up on the couch yet again, the blanket wrapped around herself. It was the day to remember all those who were lost in the war, all those who fought bravely but couldn't come home. And it was the war that Bucky didn't get to fight in. Not long, at least. Not before he was taken away. Turned into something...else. And no matter how much (Name) rebuked him for saying it, he'd always end up referring to himself as one thing every year; _Monster. _

And she would have reminisced on his poor attitude on the day if he hadn't suddenly burst into the house, quickly slamming the door shut to avoid more hail tumbling into the home and scratching the floor worse than it already had. She waited for him to come in and join her, patiently sitting as she heard nothing but heavy footsteps and the sound of a coat being hung up, as well as the umbrella. Bucky sighed heavily, his steps pausing as his shoes came off. Then there was the soft, familiar thudding of his feet as he walked towards the living room, finally coming in and taking a heavy seat on the couch next to her, but away from her.

"Hey." She said softly, a friendly smile on her face. He glanced over at her, offering a tight-lipped one back, which quickly disappeared.

"...Hey."

"How'd it go?"

"It went...well." He replied shortly, his arms crossed in front of him. Her smile widened, but this time piteously as she scooted closer to him, leaning her head on his metal shoulder. She quickly pulled away though, yelping when she came into contact with the metal arm.

"Whoa, you're cold!" She exclaimed with a laugh. He only glanced over at her, offering an apologetic frown.

"Sorry. Arm gets cold whenever the weather's like this." He mumbled, his downcast look only making her feel worse. Not for herself, but for him. It always sucked whenever this holiday came around, and what made it worse was that half the time she didn't even know how to deal with him. But this time, she did.

"Stay here a second." She said after their brief pause. He didn't really move, just grunted as she shifted. She unwrapped the blanket from herself and tossed it onto him instead, swaddling him up in the fluffy pink thing before padding down the hall. She went into the bedroom and hurried over to her side of the bed, searching for a specific treat she kept hidden in her stash.

And there it was.

Hershey's.

"Perfect!" She whispered to herself with a grin, and quickly got back up, skidding into the kitchen next and searching to find another important element to the make-Bucky-feel-better mission. She darted over to the cupboards, searching around until she found the next most important part;

The hot chocolate.

Because what better way to feel happy than with hot chocolate and Hershey's? There aren't too many things that could make you feel much better than that. Unless, of course, you added a movie. One of his favorite movies, to be exact. She quickly got the hot chocolate all set up and walked back into the living room with a tray of the lovely drinks and multiple bars of Hershey's candy bars. She was so gonna have to go to the gym after this…

"Hey Bucky, look what I got-" She cut off when she saw the man, and did her best to hold in her laughter.

There was her big, strong man, wrapped up like an eskimo in a _pink, fluffy blanket. _He looked up at her when she snickered, covering her mouth when she set the tray down with almost a glare.

"What're you laughing at?" He wondered, looking almost offended that she was more or less making fun of him. But she just shook her head, unwrapping him ever so slightly so she could sit on his lap, wrapping them both up in the fuzzy pink and plant a kiss on his forehead.

"You just look absolutely adorable, that's all!" She responded with a grin, and reached back to the tray to retrieve the chocolate bars, holding one in front of his face deviously. He pouted, averting his eyes towards the candy she held in her hand, unwrapped and ready to be eaten.

"I'm not adorable." He said childishly, making her giggle and kiss his forehead.

"You're right. You're too hot to be 'adorable'." She joked, and turned around on his lap ever so slightly so she could reach for the remote, switching on the movie that she'd put in just before he'd come back.

"You know, I'm so proud of you, Buck. Did you know that?" She murmured, facing him and locking eyes with him when he popped a piece of chocolate in his mouth. He never could resist the delicious candy. Then again, who could?

"Why's that?" He hummed, his mood gradually lifting when the screen faded into the opening scene of the classic movie...Mr. Lucky. And of course when she passed him a hot chocolate just as that classic 1939 movie really got started up. It did feature Cary Grant after all. That automatically made it a classic by default.

"You're always so strong on days like this. Even when you feel like you're not and that you're just moping around, it takes a lot of strength and responsibility to go out there and just give your love to those fallen soldiers the way you do. No matter what the weather is too, how about that?" She mused with a warm smile, dipping her finger into his drink and popping a spot of hot cocoa on his nose. He crinkled it in response, setting the cup down so he could focus more on her (and the Hershey's, of course).

"There's nothing special about it. S'the least I can do. After what H.Y.D.R.A. did to me, all those people that died...and the war…just- I owe it to them. I'm the m-"

"Don't you say it." She cut him off, taking his face into her hands. "Don't you even think it."

"But it's true!" He protested, the hurt in his eyes making her frown herself. He was so passionate about the fact (or opinion, rather), that he was a ruthless, evil person. She knew though, for solid fact that it wasn't true. What was it going to take to make him think otherwise?

"Bucky, sweetheart, you're not. If you really were such an evil person, do you think I'd be with you right now? And- And even if you did go out and kill people because you were somehow miraculously turned back into the Winter Soldier, I'd still love you anyways. You're not an evil monster, James Buchanan Barnes, and if making you stay home with me on this holiday -or any holiday, for that matter- is what it takes then so be it!" She declared, a small grin breaking into her determined look. He offered her a weak smile in return, shaking his head even as she held him so gently.

"I have to go every year, Natalya. It's my duty as a...well, when I _was _a soldier. It's only right I go and pay respects." He explained, and she tilted her head as if she were considering what he told her. But she shook her head anyways, kissing his nose where she'd left a little chocolate drop.

"Mm, nope. I think we'll just drown you in your favorite sweets and movies every year instead." She jested, nuzzling into his neck and wrapping her arms around him. He hummed again, taking her into his strong arms and cuddling them both up in the blanket in the process. It was only then that he realized how close in proximity they both were. She was right on top of him. ...And he liked it.

"Well I don't hear a no, so I guess that's what we'll be doing then, huh?" She said with a laugh, and moved to get up off him and sit on his side -you know, so they could snuggle up in the blanket all proper like- but he caught her hips, holding her in place on his lap. She paused, looking down at him with a questioning look. He just offered a small smile, and then connected their lips. Just when the movie was getting to the good part, too.

They broke apart for hardly a second before she pushed herself on him once again, their kiss stronger, more passionate. When they finally had to pull away for that pesky thing called oxygen, she reached behind her, taking the remote and muting the movie before turning back to him, her hands resting on his chest with a devious little smirk.

"Let's make this a Memorial Day to remember, hm?"

She couldn't have been more right.


End file.
